Slate magazine has a large interview with Matt Desmond, author of Evicted. You should read the article, heck you should read the book, but I’ve taken a snip from the article that I think accurately portrays Desmond’s view of owners. It is a view that I’m sure will be lost upon many as the community reacts to his writings.

It is our job, for the sake of our industry as well as for tenants, to ensure this does not happen. Much anti-landlord sentiment out there is really an anti-tenant sentiment. But we are a more politically appetizing target.

Slate:

You don’t demonize the landlords. You really emphasize how difficult the business is and how close to disaster many of these operators frequently are when they get an unexpected bill. What do you think is the most useful way for reform-minded readers, who might be tempted to villainize these people, to understand these actors?

Desmond:

I think we are letting ourselves off easy if we just say, “Oh those landlords they’re so greedy,” or “Oh these tenants are so irresponsible.” If we as a nation are going to house the vast majority of our low-income families in the private market, landlords have to be at the table. We have to understand their perspective; we have to understand their incentives. The book does not shy away from moments where landlords have massive discretion over families’ lives or where landlords drive their properties into the ground. But it also documents when landlords work with families and let them slide sometimes.

Disclaimer

I am "just a landlord," NOT an attorney or accountant. If you need legal advice, tax advice or have appendicitis, don’t rely on something you read on the internet and do it yourself. Rather, hire a competent professional.